The Marauders and Lily read the Goblet of Fire
by Kittlyn
Summary: Lily and the Marauders find a book one day during the Christmas Holidays and decide to read it.
1. The Riddle House

The Marauders and Lily read the Goblet of Fire

By: Kittlyn

Ch. 1: The Riddle House

It was the Christmas holidays for the three boys and girl who were the only students left in Gryffindor to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. Their names were: Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, & Remus Lupin. Though she was bored enough to hang out with the Marauders (James, Sirius, & Remus) and started actually enjoying their company, she would never admit it. See, Lily was a sixth year prefect and didn't like the Marauders' pranks and antics. Although, she was friendly enough with Remus who was the level-headed one of the group. There was a fourth Marauder, Peter Pettigrew, who had gone home for the holidays to visit with his mum. For some reason the rest of the Marauders plus Lily was told to stay at Hogwarts. James, the unspoken ringleader of the group, was obsessed with Lily and although deep down she really did like him, she just didn't want to trust his words enough to go out with him. Because if she did and he broke her heart, she would never forgive herself. She didn't want to be vulnerable in front of Potter. It unnerved her. Anyway…

Lily was coming down from the girls' dorms one day to sit in front of the fire in one of the armchairs to read. As she stepped off the last steps, she'd seen the Marauders over in one corner, bored by the looks of it, playing Wizards' Chess. James and Sirius were playing each other while Remus, ever the bookworm like she herself was, was absorbed in a book. She rolled her eyes as she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs. The Marauders had looked up as she had come in, James had smiled at her and winked, while Remus waved and Sirius just went back to the game. She had waved back at Remus, ignored Potter and Black, and sat down.

30 minutes later…

A _thud_ was heard from behind her, and as she rolled her eyes (she's done that so many times in the presence of the Marauders that she's afraid they're going to get stuck one day), she turned around and said, "Can't you guys ever leave me alone and act mature for your age for once. I mean come on, Potter!" She stopped when she saw a book in Potter's hand. "Where did _you_ get a book? Didn't think you knew where the library was?"

"It just appeared," he said, looking insulted at her words. "And what makes you think _I_ don't know where the library is?"

"Forget that," said Sirius, exasperated at the two of them. "The title of it says, **Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix**."

"Potter?" Lily inquired. "Any relative of yours, Potter?"

"Nope, no one named Harry in our family except my Grandpa's name was Harold," James said, looking thoughtful.

"Let me see it," said Lily. James handed the book over and she opened it to the copyrighted page. "**Copyrighted in 2003!" **

"What?" the others cried stunned. The book was passed around and everybody had a look for themselves.

"Hey, look, there's a note on the back," Remus said, pointing. He ripped it off and read it aloud, "_Dear Marauders and Lily, I'm sure you've found out by now that the book you are now holding is from the future. Lily and James, Harry Potter is indeed a relative of James and not only is he a relative but he is your son _(everyone gasped at this, James and Lily's jaws dropped)_. There is a few things you should know before you read this. There was 7 books written about your son and this one is the fifth one set in Harry's fifth year. Each book is what happened to Harry during that year. I thought you would appreciate skipping a few books if I explained it all to you first. When Harry was one years old, it was Halloween night (Sirius and you two had decided on Peter for your secret keeper, it was going to be Sirius, but thought nobody would think Peter would be the keeper, anyway) Peter betrayed where you were and Voldemort showed up that night. He killed James first and was going to kill little Harry after killing Lily but because of Lily's love and protecting Harry, he was protected and the killing curse bounced off of Harry and back to Voldemort, causing him to lose his powers and turned into a mere spirit, barely human. He fled. And he wasn't heard from again until Harry's first year where he kept him from getting the Sorcerer's stone and where Harry met his best friends, Ronald Weasley (Ron) and Hermione Granger. Harry turns out to be a Parseltongue (they find that out in 2__nd__ year but Ron and Hermione don't care and stay friends with him) and Harry ends up saving Ron's little sister, Ginny and battling the basilisk that was terrorizing the school (with the help of Tom Riddle a.k.a. Voldemort's memory self), destroying it and Riddle and saving the whole school. Along with Gilderoy Lockhart accidentally casting a Memory Charm on himself. Anyway, it was third year when Harry found out that his godfather, Sirius Black, was framed for his mum and dad's murder and also for the murder of Peter Pettigrew (who turned out to be Ron's rat, Scabbers) and 12 Muggles. Sirius had been in Azkaban for 12 years until he escaped the summer before Harry, Ron and Hermione's third year. Pettigrew ended up escaping and Sirius had to flee for his life. Only Dumbledore, Remus, and Harry and his friends knew the truth until fourth year. I was going to let you skip reading fourth year but… maybe I should. Because I really don't want to explain fourth year to you. _(The fourth book, **Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire** landed in Sirius's hands)_ Well, enjoy I guess. And remember…when you end up reading the sixth book, DON'T JUDGE ANYONE! Okay, well, enjoy the books..._

_Sincerely_

_B. L. Cates_

Everyone stood there with their mouths open, tears flowing down Lily's cheek, and being stunned.

"I have a SON with Potter and we both die a year after he's born?!!" Lily whispered hoarsely, bursting into tears a second later. Remus and Sirius patted her awkwardly, who were both seething silently about Peter's betrayal. James wrapped his arms around her, his own tears sliding down his cheeks, and to the boys' immense surprise, Lily didn't object to James.

10 seconds later, she wiped her tears and said, "Thanks, James." That shocked them even more, Lily never called James by his first name. "It's inevitable," she continued. "James…willugooutwithme?" She said all that in a rush.

"What?" James asked, confused.

She took a deep breath and said again, "Will you be my boyfriend?" The boys' (including James) jaws dropped, staring at Lily.

James shook out of it and grinned, and said, "Yes, Lily, I would love to!" Lily hugged him around the waist and squeezed. James was so happy. He rested his head on her head and swayed a little.

"Ah, hum…" Remus coughed to get their attention. "Um, books…"

"Oh, yeah.."

"Can I read first?" Lily asked. The boys all nodded and said, "Yes." Lily and James sat together on the couch in front of the fire and the other boys each took an armchair.

**CHAPTER ONE**

**THE RIDDLE HOUSE**

**The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it "the Riddle House," even though**

"Wait," Sirius interrupted. "I thought this was about their son, Harry."

"It's only the first chapter, Sirius," Remus said.

"Okay…continue."

**it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. **

"That sounds…lovely," Sirius commented dryly. Lily glared at him and he gulped and made the zipping motion across his mouth.

**Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied.**

**The Little Hangletons all agreed that the old house was "creepy." Half a century ago, something strange and horrible had happened there, something that the older inhabitants of the village still liked to discuss when topics for gossip were scarce. The story had been picked over so many times,**

"I wonder what happened," Sirius mumbled to himself, not quite loud enough to interrupt Lily, but loud enough for Remus to hear.

"Well, if you let her read, I'm sure we'll find out," Remus whispered to him. Sirius just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Boys," Lily stopped reading and gave Remus and Sirius a warning glance.

"Sorry, Lily," they said together. James and Lily just rolled their eyes. James shook his head at his best friends.

**and had been embroidered in so many places, that nobody was quite sure what the truth was anymore. Every version of the tale, however, started in the same place: Fifty years before, at daybreak on a fine summer's morning, when the Riddle House had still been well kept and impressive, a maid had entered the drawing room to find all three Riddles dead.**

They all gasped. "What a way to begin a book?" Sirius said sarcastically. Lily glared disapprovingly. The word 'dead' reminded her of her and James's own fates. Lily sighed sadly and continued with James rubbing her shoulders, comforting her.

**The maid had run screaming down the hill into the village and roused as many people as she could. **

"**Lying there with their eyes wide open! Cold as ice! Still in their dinner things!"**

**The police were summoned, and the whole of Little Hangleton had seethed with shocked curiosity and ill-disguised excitement. Nobody wasted their breath pretending to feel very sad about the Riddles, for they had been most unpopular. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Riddle had been rich, snobbish, and rude,**

"Sounds like someone we know," Sirius said. "Malfoy!" the boys said together.

"Ah, hum…"

"Sorry!"

**and their grown-up son, Tom, had been, if anything, worse. All the villagers cared about was the identity of their murderer – for plainly, three apparently healthy people did not all drop dead of natural causes on the same night.**

**The Hanged Man, the village pub, did a roaring trade that night; the whole village seemed to have turned out to discuss the murders. They were rewarded for leaving their firesides when the Riddles' cook arrived dramatically in their midst and announced to the suddenly silent pub that a man called Frank Bryce had just been arrested.**

"**Frank!' cried several people. "Never!"**

**Frank Bryce was the Riddles' gardener. He lived alone in a rundown cottage on the grounds of the Riddle House. Frank had come back from the war with a very stiff leg and a great dislike of crowds and loud noises,**

"I don't see how this has to do with anything," Sirius sighed, bored.

"SHUT UP, SIRIUS/BLACK!" Lily, James, and Remus all yelled.

"Well, fine," he said, huffing and folding his arms, pouting. The others just rolled their eyes at Sirius's actions. Lily continued.

**and had been working for the Riddles ever since.**

**There was a rush to buy the cook drinks hear more details.**

"**Always thought he was odd," she told the eagerly listening villagers, after her fourth sherry. "Unfriendly, like. I'm sure if I've offered him a cuppa once, I've offered it a hundred times. Never wanted to mix, he didn't."**

"**Ah, now," said a woman at the bar, "he had a hard war, Frank. He likes the quiet life. That's no reason to –"**

"**Who else had a key to the back door, then?" barked the cook. "There's been a spare key hanging in the gardener's cottage far back as I can remember! Nobody forced the door last night! No broken windows! All Frank had to do was creep up to the big house while we was all sleeping. . . ."**

**The villagers exchanged dark looks.**

"**I always thought he had a nasty look about him, right enough," grunted a man at the bar.**

"**War turned him funny, if you ask me," said the landlord.**

"**Told you I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of Frank, didn't I, Dot?" said an excited woman in the corner.**

"**Horrible temper," said Dot, nodding fervently. "I remember, when he was a kid . . ."**

Sirius pretended to give a loud snore. James and Remus proceeded to hit him with a couch cushion. Lily just narrowed her eyes at him. Sirius cowered under her gaze.

**By the following morning, hardly anyone in Little Hangleton doubted that Frank Bryce had killed the Riddles.**

**Then, just when things were looking very serious for Frank, the report on the Riddles' bodies came back and changed everything.**

**The police had never read an odder report. A team of doctors had examined the bodies and had concluded that none of the Riddles had been poisoned, stabbed, shot, strangled, suffocated, or (as far as they could tell) harmed at all. In fact (the report continued, in a tone of unmistakable bewilderment), the Riddles all appeared to be in perfect health**

"The Killing Curse!" everyone said, somberly.

**-apart from the fact that they were all dead. The doctors did note (as though determined to find something wrong with the bodies) that each of the Riddles had a look of terror upon his or her face – but as the frustrated police said, whoever heard of three people being **_**frightened**_** to death?**

"I have," Sirius said, waving his hand in the air. James then tackled him and put duck tape on his mouth and then put it on his hands.

"Thank you, James," Lily grinned appreciatively as Sirius squirmed and tried to talk.

"Anything for you, dear," He said pecking her on the cheek. James smirked as he watch Lily blush. Remus sat back, smiling at the two, and laughing silently to himself at Sirius. Lily caught James's eye and they leaned towards each other. 'Great, now they're going to kiss,' Remus thought as he turned away. 'Good for them.' Sirius's eyes sparkled as he watched his best mate and Lily kiss on the couch in front of the fire. He caught Remus's eye and he grinned at him, both thinking, 'Finally.'

A couple of minutes later…

"Ahem," Remus coughed. James and Lily looked up at Remus and both blushed. "Can we read the book please?" He grinned at them. Lily nodded.

**As there was no proof that the Riddles had been murdered at all, the police were forced to let Frank go. The Riddles were buried in the Little Hangleton churchyard, and their graves remained objects of curiosity for a while. To everyone's surprise, and amid a cloud of suspicion, Frank Bryce returned to his cottage on the grounds of the Riddle House.**

"'**S far as I'm concerned, he killed them, and I don't care what the police say," said Dot in the Hanged Man. "And if he had any decency, he'd leave here, knowing as how we knows he did it."**

**But Frank did not leave. He stayed to tend the garden for the next family who lived in the Riddle House, and then the next – for neither family stayed long. Perhaps it was partly because of Frank that the new owners said there was a nasty feeling about the place, which, in the absence of inhabitants, started to fall into disrepair.**

**The wealthy man who owned the Riddle House these days neither lived there nor put it to any use; they said in the village that he kept it for "tax reasons," though nobody was very clear what these might be. The wealthy owner continued to pay Frank to do the gardening, however. Frank was nearing his seventy-seventh birthday now, very deaf, his bad leg stiffer than ever, but could be seen pottering around the flower beds in fine weather, even though the weeds were starting to creep up on him, try as he might to suppress them.**

**Weeds were not the only things Frank had to contend with either. Boys from the village made a habit of throwing stones through the windows of the Riddle House. They rode their bicycles**

Sirius looked like he wanted to say something, but then remembered he couldn't. James took pity on him and took the tape off his mouth. "What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering what a bicycle was," Sirius asked, loving being able to talk again.

"It's a form of enjoyable transportation that is run by people with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. Sort of like a motorcycle except a smaller frame and it has pedals," Lily explained. Sirius nodded okay. "Now, if we take the tape off you, will you promise to keep quiet?"

"I promise."

"Okay then, James, Remus, you can take the tape off him now." They obeyed and took the tape off of Sirius.

"YES!" Sirius thrust his arm into the air victoriously.

"Sirius…" Lily said warningly.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He sat down and put his hands in his lap.

**over the lawns Frank worked so hard to keep smooth. Once or twice, they broke into the old house for a dare. They knew that old Frank's devotion to the house and grounds amounted almost to an obsession, and it amused them to see him limping across the garden, brandishing his stick and yelling croakily at them. Frank, for his part, believed the boys tormented him because they, like their parents and grandparents, thought him a murderer. So when Frank awoke one night in August and saw something very odd up at the old house, he merely assumed that the boys had gone step further in their attempts to punish him.**

"Poor Frank," Lily mumbled to herself.

**It was Frank's bad leg that woke him; it was paining him worse than ever in his old age. He got up and limped downstairs into the kitchen with the idea of refilling his hot-water bottle to ease the stiffness in his knee. Standing at the sink, filling the kettle, he looked up at the Riddle House and saw lights glimmering in its upper windows. Frank knew at once what was going on. The boys had broken into the house again, and judging by the flickering quality of the light, they had started a fire.**

**Frank had no telephone, and in any case, he had deeply mistrusted the police ever since they had taken him in for questioning about the Riddles' deaths. He put down the kettle at once, hurried**

A note appeared and fell in Remus's lap.

"Another one?" Sirius asked.

"Well, let's hear it," James said.

"_Oh and before I forget, I will be arriving shortly after you finish the first chapter."_

"I wonder what this girl looks like," Sirius asked, thoughtful.

"There's more, Sirius," Remus said, annoyed. "Oh." "_And before you say anything, here's a picture of me, Sirius. You probably won't like it, I'm not very pretty. Anyway, please go on and finish the chapter."_ Then a picture of B. L. Cates appeared and they all took a look at it, Sirius the longest.

"Oh contraire, she's very pretty, sexy even," He said, drooling over her picture. "She's too modest."

"Okay, Sirius, let's get back to the book," Lily said, while James and Remus were musing about what she'd be like.

**back upstairs as fast as his bad leg would allow, and was soon back in his kitchen, fully dressed and removing a rusty old key from its hook by the door. He picked up his walking stick, which was propped against the wall, and set off into the night.**

**The front door of the Riddle House bore no sign of being forced, nor did any of the windows. Frank limped around to the back of the house until he reached a door almost completely hidden by ivy, took out the old key, put it into the lock, and opened the door noiselessly.**

**He let himself into the cavernous kitchen. Frank had not entered it for many years; nevertheless, although it was very dark, he remembered where the door into the hall was, and he groped his way toward it his nostrils full of the smell of decay, ears pricked for any sound of footsteps or voices from overheard. He reached the hall, which was a little lighter owing to the large mullioned windows on either side of the front door, and started to climb the stairs, blessing the dust that lay thick upon the stone, because it muffled the sound of his feet and stick.**

**On the landing, frank turned right, and saw at once where the intruders were: At the very end of the passage a door stood ajar, and a flickering light shone through the gap, casting a long sliver of gold across the black floor.**

"Ooooh, gold," Sirius said, greedily while rubbing his hands together.

"It's the light, you idiot," Remus said, rolling his eyes at him.

"Oh, well…they coulda just said that," Sirius said, dropping his hands in his lap and pouting. So Sirius-like.

"Not all books will be as simple at that, Sirius," said Remus slowly. Sirius pouted and glared at the wall opposite Remus.

"Can we get back to the book, boys?" Lily growled. They nodded, gulping.

**Frank edged closer and closer, grasping his walking stick firmly. Several feet from the entrance, he was able to see a narrow slice of the room beyond.**

**The fire, he now saw, had been lit in the grate. This surprised him. Then he stopped moving and listened intently, for a man's voice spoke within the room; it sounded timid and fearful.**

"**There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry."**

"My lord?" questioned Remus.

"It couldn't mean…what I think it means," James said, hoping against hope it wasn't who he thought it was. Another note dropped out of the air, this time into Lily's hands.

"_It is indeed Voldemort they are talking about. And there's something else you need to know that I forgot to tell you. You'll find this out in his fifth year but well, you need to know so you can understand. When you were pregnant with Harry, Lily, there was a prophecy made about your son. _THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES. . . . BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES . . . AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT . . . AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES. . . . THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES. _And that's why Harry keeps ending up face to face with Voldemort every year. Voldemort wants him dead. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it is so. I gave you these books so you can stop it, so a new prophecy could be made and the only ones who can stop the Dark Lord are you and the Marauders (minus Pettigrew). I'll explain more about me later… so, sorry about the bad news. See ya'll later. –B. L. Cates_"

The Marauders and Lily just sat there in shock. Lily was crying and holding onto to James, while was rubbing her back. Remus was the first one to come out of the shock.

"Lily, do you want me to finish the chapter?" Remus asked, softly. She nodded and gave him the book. He coughed a little before he began.

"**Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man – but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind.**

They all shuddered.

**Something about that voice made the sparse hairs on the back of Frank's neck stand up. "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail."**

The Marauders gasped. Lily looked at them quizzically. "That's Peter's nickname for the Marauders. We each have one," James explained. "I'm Prongs."

"I'm Moony," said Remus.

"I'm Padfoot," said Sirius.

"What do they mean?" Lily asked, innocently.

"Well…" Sirius, Remus, and James looked at each other and nodded. "See, Sirius, Peter, and I decided to be angimagi when we found out about…uhh Remus's condition."

"It's okay. I know Remus is a werewolf," Lily said. They stared at her, Remus looking scared.

"But…how…w-w-when?" he stuttered.

"Relax, Remus, I found out at the beginning of Second Year. I've known ever since," she said, calming him.

"And you…still want to be my friend?" he asked, confused. She nodded and he relaxed.

"Anyway… when we found out what animals we were going to be, we decided to nickname ourselves," James continued.

"Ahh," Lily said. "Moony. Got it." They chuckled at her.

"Exactly," James said. "Well, I'm a stag, Sirius is a dog, and Pettigrew (he spit his name out harshly) is a rat. Becoming whatever animal you become is based on your personality and now I guess we know why Peter became a rat."

"Amazing," Lily sighed. "Let's continue reading, shall we?"

**Frank turned his right ear toward the door, the better to hear. There came the clink of a bottle being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor. Frank caught a glimpse of a small man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back of his head. Then he went out of sight again.**

"**Where is Nagini?" said the cold voice.**

"**I – I don't know, My Lord," said the first voice nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think. . . ."**

"**You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."**

**Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man called Wormtail spoke again.**

"**My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"**

"That's disgusting, calling him 'My Lord,'" Sirius said, making a face. The others nodded, agreeing with him.

"**A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."**

Sirius and James's ears perked up at the word 'Quidditch.' Lily and Remus rolled their eyes.

**Frank inserted a gnarled finger into his ear and rotated it. Owing, no doubt, to a buildup of earwax, he had heard the word "Quidditch," which was not a word at all.**

"**The – the Quidditch World Cup, My Lord?" said Wormtail. (Frank dug his finger still more vigorously into his ear.) "Forgive me, but – I do not understand – why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"**

"**Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and ever meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait."**

**Frank stopped trying to clear out his ear. He had distinctly heard the words "Ministry of Magic," "wizards," and "Muggles." Plainly, each of these expressions meant something secret, and Frank could think of only two sorts of people who would speak in code: spies and criminals. Frank tightened his old on his walking stick once more, and listened more closely still.**

"**Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly.**

"**Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.**

"Careful, Pettigrew, you're getting him angry now," Sirius taunted. James laughed.

"He can't hear you, Sirius," Lily said slowly like she was talking to a mentally challenged child.

Sirius just "hmphed," and turned away from her, pouting.

"Two-year-old," Remus coughed. Sirius scowled at him, "Am not!" and everyone laughed.

**A slight pause followed – and then Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve.**

"**It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord."**

"Wait, what could be done without my son?" James and Lily questioned, looking slightly angry. "Leave our son alone, Moldyshorts!" James hollered.

"Moldyshorts?" Sirius asked. Remus and Lily looked at James weirdly. "Good one!" James just blushed.

**Another pause, more protracted, and then – **

"**Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see . . ."**

"**My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all!**

"That showed when you betrayed me and Lily and left our son all alone!" James yelled angrily at the book.

"Prongs, calm down, he can't hear you!" Remus said soothingly. Lily wrapped her arms around James. He took a deep breath and settled, happy for Lily's comfort.

**It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard – any wizard – the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while – you know that I can disguise myself most effectively – I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person –"**

"**I could use another wizard," said the cold voice softly, "that is true. . . ."**

"**My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected –"**

"**And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder . . . perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"**

"**My Lord! I – I have no wish to leave you, none at all –"**

"Oh, please, _Wormtail_, do not lie to _your_ Dark Lord," Sirius said sarcastically. "When he comes back from break, let me at him…" Everyone backed away from Sirius at the look on his face.

"**Do not lie to me!"**

"See."

"Sirius!"

"Sorry."

**hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me. . . ."**

"**No! My devotion to Your Lordship –"**

"**Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"**

"Who in the heck is Nagini?" Sirius questioned. Everybody else shrugged.

"**But you seem so much stronger, My Lord –"**

"**Liar," breathed the second voice. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. **_**Silence!**_**"**

**Wormtail, who had been sputtering incoherently, fell silent at once. For a few seconds, Frank could hear nothing but the fire crackling. Then the second man spoke once more, in a whisper that was almost a hiss.**

"**I have my reason for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail – courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath –"**

"**My Lord, I must speak!" said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. "All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head – My Lord, Bertha Jorkin's disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I murder –"**

They gasped. "Wormtail!" the guys growled.

"Bertha was such a nice girl," sighed Lily sadly. "A little forgetful, but nice."

"I can't believe Peter!" Remus snarled. "First my best friends and now her…" Lily quickly took the book from him before he ripped it. Remus kicked the armchair he was sitting in just a few seconds ago.

"Let's just calm down, shall we?" Lily asked, pleadingly. "I know it's sad and I know Peter's a _bloody_ traitor, but we need to finish the chapter. I'll finish it." The boys calmed and sat back down. "Thank you." James put his arm around her, squeezing her tightly. A silent tear slid down her cheek.

"**If?" whispered the second voice. "**_**If?**_** If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that I could it myself, but in my present condition . . . Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear.**

"DON'T YOU TOUCH OUR SON!" Lily and James yelled together. Remus and Sirius's eyes widened at their friends.

"Take a deep breath, Lily, Prongs…" Sirius said, trying to get them to calm down. They did and sat back down, still breathing heavily.

**I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my **_**faithful**_** servant will have rejoined us –"**

"_**I**_** am a faithful servant," said Wormtail, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice.**

"**Wormtail, I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered, and you, unfortunately, fulfill neither requirement."**

"**I found you," said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now. "I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins."**

"Of course you did," Sirius said sarcastically, scowling at the book.

"**That is true," said the second man, sounding amused. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail – though, if truth be told you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"**

"**I – I thought she might be useful, My Lord –"**

"**Liar," said the second man again, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of followers would give their right hands to perform. . . ."**

"**R-really, My Lord? What -?" Wormtail sounded terrified again.**

"Isn't he always terrified of _something_?" James murmured. "He's pathetic."

"James…" Lily said softly.

"Oh, right, sorry."

"**Ah, Wormtail, you don't want me to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end . . . but I promise you, you will have the honor of being just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."**

"**You . . . you . . ." Wormtail's voice suddenly sounded hoarse, as though his mouth had gone very dry. "You . . . are going . . . to kill me too?"**

"**Wormtail, Wormtail," said the cold voice silkily, "why would I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with the news that she had met you on her holidays. Wizards who are supposed to be dead would do well not to run into ministry of Magic witches at wayside inns. . . ."**

**Wormtail muttered something so quietly that Frank could not hear it, but it made the second man laugh – an entirely mirthless laugh, cold as his speech.**

"_**We could have modified her memory?**_

"Is he…_defending_ her? Isn't it a little late…" Sirius said incredulously.

"Now, why would he defend her….Voldemort would think his loyalty was wavering?" James asked, sarcastically.

"Okay, enough sarcasm, back to the book," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes at the two boys.

**But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her **_**memory**_** not to use the information I extracted from her, Wormtail."**

**Out in the corridor, Frank suddenly became aware that the hand gripping his walking stick was slippery with sweat. The man with the cold voice had killed a woman. He was talking about it without any kind of remorse – with **_**amusement**_**.**

"Well, that's Voldemort for you," Sirius sighed, looking pained remembering what Moldyshorts would do to his best friend and Lily.

**He was dangerous – a madman. And he was planning more murders – this boy, Harry Potter, whoever he was – was in danger –**

**Frank knew what he must do.**

"Like he could do anything," Remus said sarcastically.

**Now, if ever, was the time to go to the police. He would creep out of the house and head straight for the telephone box in the village . . . but the cold voice was speaking again, and Frank remained where he was, frozen to the spot, listening with all his might.**

"**One more murder . . . my faithful servant at Hogwarts . . . Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. Be quiet . . . I think I hear Nagini. . . ."**

**And the second man's voice changed. He started making noises such as Frank had never heard before; he was hissing and spitting without drawing breath. Frank thought he must be having some sort of fit or seizure.**

**And then Frank heard movement behind him in the dark passage way. He turned to look, and found himself paralyzed with fright.**

"What? What is it?" Sirius asked frantically, leaning towards Lily excitedly.

"Well, if you'd let me _read_, we could find out, Sirius," Lily said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Okay, okay, sor_ry_," Sirius said, making a zipping motion across his mouth. Satisfied, Lily continued.

**Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long.**

"Well, that must be Nagini and Voldemort was talking to her in Parseltongue," gasped Sirius.

"You think, Padfoot," James asked sarcastically. Sirius just pouted and folded his arms.

**Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer – What was he to do? The only means of escape was into the room where two men sat plotting murder, yet if he stayed where he was the snake would surely kill him –**

**But before he had made his decision, the snake was level with him, and then, incredibly, miraculously, it was passing; it was following the spitting, hissing noises made by the cold voice beyond the door, and in seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the gap.**

**There was sweat on Frank's forehead now, and the hand on the walking stick was trembling. Inside the room, the cold voice was continuing to hiss, and Frank was visited by a strange idea, an impossible idea. . . . **_**This man could talk to snakes.**_

"Boy, he sure catches on quick for a Muggle," Sirius commented. Lily gave him the death glare and Sirius cowered and became quiet again.

**Frank didn't understand what was going on. He wanted more than anything to be back in his bed with his hot-water bottle. The problem was that his legs didn't seem to want to move. As he stood there shaking and trying to master himself, the cold voice switched abruptly to English again.**

"**Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," it said.**

"**In-indeed, My Lord?" said Wormtail.**

"**Indeed, yes," said the voice. "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say."**

"Run, Muggle, run!" Sirius and James yelled.

"Idiots," Lily and Remus mumbled but hoping for the Muggle, Frank, to get out of there as well.

**Frank didn't have a chance to hide himself.**

"Damn." ("Language, Sirius!" said Lily, although half-heartedly.)

**There were footsteps, and the door of the room was flung wide open.**

**A short, balding man with graying hair, a pointed nose, and small, watery eyes stood before Frank, am mixture of fear and alarm in his face.**

"**Invite him inside, Wormtail. Where are your manners?"**

**The cold voice was coming from the ancient armchair before the fire, but Frank couldn't see the speaker.**

"Get out while you still can," Sirius pleaded.

"Sirius, Voldemort would ki-catch him before he was one foot out the door," Lily said sadly.

"Yeah, I know, but a guy can hope can't he?" All of their hearts constricted with sadness for the old man, for they knew his fate; nobody survived once Voldemort decided to kill them, no one except for Lily and James's son apparently.

**The snake, on the other hand, was curled up on the rotting hearth rug, like some horrible travesty of a pet dog.**

**Wormtail beckoned Frank into the room. Though still deeply shaken, Frank took a firmer grip upon his walking stick and limped over the threshold.**

**The fire was the only source of light in the room; it cast long, spidery shadows upon the walls. Frank stared at the back of the armchair; the man inside it seemed to be even smaller than his servant, for Frank couldn't even see the back of his head.**

"**You heard everything, Muggle?"**

"**What's that you're calling me?" said Frank defiantly, for now that he was inside the room, now that the time had come for some sort of action, he felt braver; it had always been so in the war.**

"**I am calling you a Muggle," said the voice coolly. "It means that you are not a wizard."**

"Well, duh, we know that," said Sirius.

"Frank doesn't know that though, Sirius," Remus said, exasperated.

"Oh yeah, 'cause he's a Muggle, right." Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"**I don't know what you mean by wizard," said Frank, his voice growing steadier. 'All I know is I've heard enough to interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're planning more! I'll tell you this too," he added, on a sudden inspiration, "my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back –"**

"He's not going to believe you," Sirius said in a singsong voice.

"Sirius, we're almost finished, be quiet," Lily growled.

"Here, let me," said Remus. He pointed his wand at Sirius and said, "_Silencio!_" Sirius tried to shout, "HEY!" but nothing would come out of his mouth.

"Thanks, Remus," Lily said grinning.

"No problem." Sirius just glared at the two of them and stuck his tongue out.

"**You have no wife," said the cold voice, very quietly.**

Sirius looked smug and tried to say something but then remembered he couldn't and pouted.

"**Nobody knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows . . . he always knows. . . ."**

"**Is that right?" said Frank roughly. "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, **_**My Lord.**_** Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?"**

"**But I am not a man, Muggle," said the cold voice, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man. However . . . why not? I will face you. . . . Wormtail, come turn any chair around."**

**The servant gave a whimper.**

"Pathetic," Remus and James mumbled.

"**You heard me, Wormtail."**

**Slowly, with his face screwed up, as though he would rather have done anything than approach this master and the hearth rug where the snake lay, the small man walked forward and began to turn the chair. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as the legs of the chair snagged on its rug.**

Lily whimpered and buried her head into James's chest.

"Would you like for me to read the rest of it, Lily?" James asked softly. She nodded and so he picked up where she left off.

**And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream. He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled.**

Everyone paled and gasped (except for Sirius, his mouth dropped open). Lily let out a soft sob. James held her and told it was going to be okay.

**He was dead before he hit the floor.**

**Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.**

"What?" everyone gaped.

"Do you mean to tell me this whole chapter was a dream?" Remus exclaimed.

"Not necessarily," said a new voice.


	2. The Arrival of B L Cates

Ch. 2: The Arrival of B. L. Cates

Everyone turned to look for the person who said that and found her at the entrance to the common room. She was wearing a T-shirt and a short skirt with flip flops and it looked to be a wand stashed in her pocket. She had shoulder-length straight brown hair with streaks of purple and blue in it. Her eyes were also purple. They gaped.

"So…you must be B. L. Cates?" Lily questioned, the first one to be out of the shock.

"Call me Brittany," she reached out and shook Lily's hand. "So…this is the Marauders and Lily?"

"Yup."

"Technically, this the first time I met you guys. I've been in Harry's time for a while trying to help him and his friends, until I decided that I should come back and change the timeline altogether."

Everyone gaped.

"You mean, you're not from this time?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I mean, how else would I have gotten the books," Brittany explained.

"Wait, since you know all about what happens to Harry," James said. "I need to ask you a question."

"Go on."

"Where does Harry live?" Everyone listened closer to what she had to say.

"At Lily's sister's house with her husband and son. Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley Dursley," Brittany said.

"You got to be kidding me," Lily screeched. "Not my sister's. She HATES me, ever since I got my acceptance letter for Hogwarts. I think she's just jealous. We used to be so close before." Lily looked sad.

"Cheer up, I bet I can go back to when she was 11 and make her magic, too," Brittany said, trying to comfort.

"Really? You can do that?" Lily asked, pleadingly.

"Yeah, I can do anything that makes the Marauders, Lily, Harry and his friends happy," Brittany said. "I'm kind of a protector of sorts, a Fairy Godmother if you will. But not exactly a Fairy Godmother. I've stopped aging at 16 so I can do my job. So, whoever I marry will stay the same age too. Why isn't Sirius asking any questions?" She grinned already knowing why.

"Oh, I silenced him, so we could read," Remus explained. "_Finite Incantatem._"

"Thank Merlin!" Sirius said, exercising his vocal cords. Everybody laughed at him. "So, beautiful, why don't we get together sometime and you know, hang out." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Sirius! Leave her alone, she just got here, mate!" James laughed.

"I don't mind, James, I think he's gorgeous!" Brittany said, looking Sirius up and down, grinning appreciatively. Sirius grinned back and looked at Brittany seductively.

"Ahem!" coughed Remus.

"Oh, right, back to business."

"So, you can travel through time?" Remus asked, eager to learn.

"Yep. I can only go the Marauders' era (with Lily too) and Harry's era and when he has kids I can go to their era too."

"But can't you go to the future anyway?" Remus asked confused.

"I want to wait 'till he has the kids, to go to their era," Brittany said. "And oh yeah, I'm a Metamorphmagus."

"Really?" Sirius asked intrigued. "My cousin, Andy, just sent me a letter telling me her daughter, Dora, is showing the signs of being a Metamorph. That's awesome!"

"Yep." Then she changed her hair color to black with blond and bright red highlights.

"Amazing!" Lily sighed. Then she changed back.

"My eyes were originally brown," Brittany said. "I preferred purple because thought brown eyes + brown hair was a boring match."

"So you originally had brown hair and eyes?" Remus asked. She nodded.

"I was born with them, yes," she replied. "Hey, what time is it?"

"Umm… about 10:40, why?" Remus asked.

"Nothing… I was just wondering when you go to lunch, if I could accompany you?" she asked, suddenly shy.

"Of course, silly," Sirius said, grinning at her.

"Okay then, let's continue reading the book then, shall we?"

"Of course, would you like to read?" Lily asked, politely.

"Oh no, let one of the others read," Brittany said, planting herself on Sirius's lap. His eyes widened and then he smirked at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Remus just rolled his eyes at the two.

"Ooooh, can I read, Lily?" James asked. She nodded, chuckling at him. Lily handed him the book and they got settled.

"Oh before we begin, I forgot to tell you that when Harry was a baby and Voldemort tried to kill him, he received a curse scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. It's what's connecting him to Voldemort, what you thought the first chapter was a dream was real. Harry was seeing it through Voldemort's eyes. Frank was really killed. Harry only has these "visions" when he's asleep, except for one occasion, but you'll find that out later," Brittany explained.

"My poor baby," Lily breathed. "I can't believe it…"

"Let's just begin, Lily flower," James said softly. Brittany just stared sadly at the two, knowing their fate and knowing that now they know their fate.

**CHAPTER TWO**

**THE SCAR**

**Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old scar on his forehead, which was shape like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.**

"My poor son," Lily whispered. "Does the scar do that a lot?"

"At first it only did that when Voldemort was near, but then it started doing that when Harry would have the visions or when Harry could feel what Voldemort was feeling at the moment."

"Poor Harry," James said sadly.

**He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other reaching out in the darkness for his glasses, which were on the bedside table. He put them on and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by a faint, misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window.**

"Ah, the Potter eyesight," Sirius commented. Brittany smacked him. "What?"

"Stop being mean," she said. He nodded at her glare.

"Whipped," Remus whispered to James and they laughed when Sirius scowled at them.

**Harry ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened his wardrobe, and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. A skinny boy of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes**

"Ah, Lily, he has your eyes!" James exclaimed. "He's lucky!" Lily blushed.

Brittany smiled at the two. She sighed and whispered into Sirius's ear, "I've always wanted a family."

"What are you saying," he whispered back, eyes widened.

"I might want a family with you in the future," she said, smiling at his shocked face.

"Will you be my girlfriend then?" he asked her, grinning as her face lit up.

"Yes, definitely!" she squealed and hugged him.

"What are you two up to?" Lily asked.

"Sirius and I…" she paused for dramatic effect. Sirius chuckled. "…are now an item!"

"Really, congratulations!" Lily exclaimed giving Brittany a hug. Surprised, she hugged her back.

"Thanks!" she replied. Remus and James patted Sirius on the back. "Okay, enough, back to the book now." She gave Sirius a small kiss on the cheek. He grinned.

**puzzled under his untidy black hair.**

"And he's got your hair, James," Lily smiled affectionately and ruffled his hair. He grinned.

**He examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.**

**Harry tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real. . . . **

"It was real, son…unfortunately," James said sadly.

**There had been two people he knew and one he didn't. . . . He concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember. . . .**

**The dim picture of a darkened room came to him. . . . There had been a snake on a hearth rug . . . a small man called Peter, nicknamed Wormtail . . . and a cold, high voice . . . the voice of Lord Voldemort. Harry felt as though an ice cube had slipped down into his stomach at the very thought. . . .**

**He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible. . . . All Harry knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and he, Harry, had seen what was sitting in it, he had felt a spasm of horror, which had awoken him . . . or had that been the pain in his scar?**

"Oh, Harry…" Lily hugged James tighter.

**And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; harry had watched him fall to the ground. It was all becoming confused. Harry put his face into his hands, blocking out his bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of that dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in his cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as he tried to hold on to them. . . . Voldemort and Wormtail had been talking about someone they had killed, though Harry could not remember the name . . . and they had been plotting to kill someone else . . . **_**him**_**!**

"Don't worry, Harry, we won't let him touch you, not ever again!" James resolved. Brittany looked at him with renewed respect.

"Yeah, Harry, we'll protect you and we'll protect ourselves so that you can have parents to grow up with and so you don't have to go to my dratted sister's!" Lily agreed.

'Go Lily and James!' Brittany thought to herself.

**Harry took his face out of his hands, opened his eyes, and stared around his bedroom as though expecting to see something unusual there. As it happened, there were an extraordinary number of unusual things in this room. A large wooden trunk stood open at the foot of his bed, revealing a cauldron, broomstick, black robes, and assorted spellbooks. Rolls of parchment littered that part of his desk that was not taken up by the large, empty cage in which his snowy owl, Hedwig, usually perched.**

"Just like Prongs's room!" Sirius said laughing. "Must run in the family then!"

James stuck his tongue out at him.

Brittany and Lily looked at each other. "Boys!" they said and rolled their eyes.

**On the floor beside his bed a book lay open; Harry had been reading it before he fell asleep last night. The pictures in this book were all moving. Men in bright orange robes were moving in and out of sight on broomsticks, throwing a red ball to one another.**

"Yes!" James high-fived Sirius. "He likes Quidditch!" James did a little dance. Everyone cracked up laughing.

"Not only does he like Quidditch, James, he plays Quidditch," Brittany said, chuckling at the expression on James's face. "He has been since first year!"

Sirius and James's jaws dropped. "What?"

"Yeah, McGonagall even bought him his first broom!" she laughed as James and Sirius's eyes bulged. "WHAT!" "Yeah, a Nimbus 2000."

"McGonagall doesn't even like us," said Sirius incredulously. "She must really, really like your kid, James."

"She's the one that persuaded Dumbledore to put him on the team," Brittany grinned. They all laughed when James fainted and Lily caught him.

"I think that was a bit too much for Jamesie," said Sirius. Brittany giggled.

"Let's wake him up so we can get on with the book," Brittany said, still smiling.

"I know how to wake him up," Lily said, grinning wickedly. Sirius waggled his eyebrows at her. "Oh, puh-lease, Sirius, get your mind out of the gutter." Lily then conjured a bucket of water with her wand and proceeded to dump the whole thing on James's face.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" James yelled, waking up. Water dripped from his face. He looked around at everyone and saw Lily holding a bucket. "Why, you…" He glared. "What happened?" Everyone had a good laugh at his expense. He pouted.

"You fainted, Prongs," Remus explained.

"Oh," was all he said, suddenly remembering why.

"Well, continue, James…" Brittany said after snapping her fingers and James was dry once again. They all gaped at her. She just shrugged. "Continue, please…"

**Harry walked over to the book, picked it up, and watched one of the wizards score a spectacular goal by putting the ball through a fifty-foot-high hoop. Then he snapped the book shut. Even Quidditch – in Harry's opinion, the best sport in the world –**

"Of course," James said. "Nothing beats Quidditch… (Everyone rolled their eyes at him) except for, of course, my girl, Lily flower."

"Awwww…" Brittany said, smiling at the two young couple. Lily was smiling at him, her eyes twinkling.

**couldn't distract him at the moment. He placed **_**Flying with the Cannons**_** on his bedside table, crossed to the window, and drew back the curtains to survey the street below.**

**Privet Drive looked exactly as a respectable suburban street would be expected to look in the early hours of Saturday morning. All the curtains were closed. As far as Harry could see through the darkness, there wasn't a living creature in sight, not even a cat.**

**And yet . . . and yet . . . Harry went restlessly back to the bed and sat down on it, running a finger over his scar again. It wasn't the pain that bothered him;**

"Nothing bothers us Potters!" James claimed, standing up and showing his muscles. Remus and Sirius snickered. Lily giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Men…" Brittany mumbled. She rested her head on Sirius's chest and wrapped his arms around his neck. "You gotta love 'em." Sirius smiled sweetly down at her, putting his arms around her waist.

"It's only 'cause they can't live without us," Lily chuckled.

"You got that right," James and Sirius said together, grinning like maniacs. The girls laughed at their antics. Then Brittany saw Remus out of the corner of her eye. He looked sad while smiling at the same time.

"It's okay, Remus, you're going to end up with someone, it's just going to take you a while," Brittany hinted. Remus brightened and smiled bigger.

"Really?" he asked eagerly.

"Really."

"That was nice of you," Sirius whispered in her ear. Brittany grinned.

"Well, it's true…she just has to grow up first," she mumbled the second part to herself, low enough for not even Remus could hear. Sirius grinned, happy for his best friend.

"Well…let's get to reading," Sirius said. James, Remus, and Lily all stared at him. Brittany just smiled. "What?"

**Harry was no stranger to pain and injury.**

"What?!" James and Lily exclaimed together.

**He had lost all the bones from his right arm once and had them painfully regrown in a night.**

"That sounds horrible," Lily said. "My poor baby."

"That was Gilderoy Lockhart's fault," Brittany said, explaining. "Harry's arm was only broken at first and then Lockhart had to try and fix it. The only thing that he is good at is the Memory Charm and he used Ron's broken wand in their 2nd year to obliviate Ron and Harry and it backfired on him. And now he's in the permanent ward in St. Mungo's, not knowing who he or anyone else is."

"Serves him right," the boys growled together.

**The same arm had been pierced by a venomous foot-long fang not long afterward.**

"He's been through a lot, hasn't he?" Lily whispered.

"Yes, Lily, he has…" Brittany whispered back. "That was the basilisk incident I talked about in my letter. That also happened in Harry's 2nd year. Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, healed him with his tears."

"Go Fawkes, Go Fawkes!" James and Sirius chanted. Remus and the girls rolled their eyes.

**Only last year Harry had fallen fifty feet from an airborne broomstick. **

"That was on account of the dementors," Brittany explained before Lily or James could say anything. "They got excited about the amount of people on the Quidditch field. The minister had stationed the dementors there to guard the school (Dumbledore definitely didn't like it), because Fudge didn't want Sirius hurting any of the students especially Harry. They thought Sirius was after Harry to 'finish the job that Voldemort started.'"

"But that's ridiculous," spluttered Sirius. "I would never hurt my best…"

"I know, Sirius," Brittany interrupted him. "Why do you think I'm here if I didn't believe in you? If I'm going out with you? Why would I do these things if I thought you turned in James and Lily and was after their son?"

Sirius's eyes teared up and said, "None of the girls I've dated have believed in me as much as you do. All they ever cared about was their image. You, well, I've finally found the perfect girl for me. To me you're the most beautiful girl in the world, inside and out. Thank you." A tear fell down Brittany's cheek and Sirius wiped it away. "I'll be there for you if you need me."

"Oh Sirius…" she hugged him tightly. "No guy's ever said that to me before. They said they loved me but they didn't mean it. And I believe I've finally found the perfect guy for me. Oh Sirius…" And they kissed, passionately.

Lily was crying from the emotion of Sirius and Brittany's interaction. Even the other guys had tears in their eyes. James was grinning, really happy for his best mate. He finally found someone that would stay with him and make him happy. And so was Remus, grinning I mean.

"Let's continue," James whispered and Sirius and Brittany broke apart smiling the most brilliant smiles that the others thought would blind them. And nobody noticed that both Sirius and Brittany were glowing.

**He was used to bizarre accidents and injuries; they were unavoidable if you attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and had a knack for attracting a lot of trouble.**

**No, the thing that was bothering Harry was that the last time his scar had hurt him, it had been because Voldemort had been close by. . . . But Voldemort couldn't be here, now. . . . The idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible. . . .**

"I hope to Merlin he's not there," Lily said, frightened for her son.

"Don't worry, Lily," Brittany said soothingly. "He's not. He can't."

Lily smiled appreciatively and hugged her. "Thanks. You're a good friend."

"No problem, Lily, I'll always be here for you and everyone else in this room," she said.

**Harry listened closely to the silence around him. Was he half-expecting to hear the creak of a stair or the swish of a cloak? And then he jumped slightly as he heard his cousin Dudley give a tremendous snore from the next room.**

**Harry shook himself mentally, he was being stupid.**

"Like father, like son," Lily commented.

"Hey!" James said, mock hurt. They all laughed at him. He pouted.

**There was no one in the house with him except Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley, and they were plainly still asleep, their dreams untroubled and painless.**

**Asleep was the way Harry liked the Dursleys best; it wasn't as though they were any help to him awake. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were Harry's only living relatives.**

"Poor Harry," said Lily.

**They were Muggles who hated and despised magic in any form, which meant that Harry was about as welcome in their house as dry rot.**

"DURSLEYS!" everyone growled.

**They had explained away Harry's long absences at Hogwarts over the last three years by telling everyone that he went to St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys.**

"How DARE they?!" James snarled.

**They knew perfectly well that, as an underage wizard, Harry wasn't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts, but they were still apt to blame him for anything that went wrong about the house.**

"Stupid Petunia! Why can't she get over her jealousy?" Lily howled. James rubbed her back while looking livid all the same.

**Harry had never been able to confide in them or tell them anything about his life in the wizarding world. The very idea of going to them when they awoke, and telling them about his scar hurting him, and about his worries about Voldemort, was laughable.**

**And yet it was because of Voldemort that Harry had come to live with the Dursleys in the first place.**

"Stupid Voldemort/Moldyshorts!" everyone mumbled.

**If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would not have had the lightning scar on his forehead. If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would still have had parents. . . . **

Lily started crying again and everyone had tears falling down their faces. James had to comfort her.

**Harry had been a year old the night that Voldemort – the most powerful Dark wizard for a century, a wizard who had been gaining power steadily for eleven years – arrived at his house and killed his father and mother.**

Lily cried harder, James hugged her tighter, Sirius had tears flowing down his cheeks, and Remus had his head in his hands. Brittany looked at them all sadly, tears of her own coming down her face.

"Brittany, could you continue for me?" he asked.

She noticed that Lily need his comfort and he couldn't read any longer so she said, "Yeah, sure." She wiped her eyes and took the book. Sirius put his head on my shoulder as I began to read.

**Voldemort had then turned his wand on Harry; he had performed the curse that had disposed of many full-grown witches and wizards in his steady rise to power – and, incredibly, it had not worked. Instead of killing the small boy, the curse had rebounded upon Voldemort. Harry had survived with nothing but a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, and Voldemort had been reduced to something barely alive.**

"Go, son!" James said weakly.

**His powers gone, his life almost extinguished, Voldemort had fled; the terror in which the secret community of witches and wizards had lived for so long had lifted, Voldemort's followers had disbanded, and Harry Potter had become famous.**

**It had been enough of a shock for Harry to discover, on his eleventh birthday, that he was a wizard; it had been even more disconcerting to find out that everyone in the hidden wizarding world knew his name.**

"I'm sure it was," Remus commented.

**Harry had arrived at Hogwarts to find that heads turned and whispers followed him wherever he went. But he was used to it now: At the end of this summer, he would be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts,**

"Yay, Harry!" James and Sirius cheered. Lily smiled weakly at them, still sniffling.

**And Harry was already counting the days until he would be back at the castle again.**

**But there was still a fortnight to go before he went back to school. He looked hopelessly around his room again, and his eye paused on the birthday cards his two best friends had sent him at the end of July.**

"So his birthday is July 31st?" James asked. Brittany nodded.

"HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" James and Sirius yelled together. Remus and Lily chuckled. "My son's now 14, I'm guessing." Brittany again nodded.

**What would they say if Harry wrote to them and told them about his scar hurting?**

**At once, Hermione Granger's voice seemed to fill his head, shrill and panicky.**

"_**Your scar hurt? Harry, that's really serious. . . . Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I'll go and check **_**Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions. . . . **_**Maybe there's something in there about curse scars. . . ."**_

**Yes, that would be Hermione's advice: Go straight to the headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book.**

"She sounds like a bookworm, just like our dear old Remy here," Sirius commented.

"Way to state the obvious, Sirius," Lily replied. He responded by sticking his tongue out at her. "Very mature."

**Harry stared out of the window at the inky blue-black sky. He doubted very much whether a book could help him now. As far as he knew, he was the only living person to have survived a curse like Voldemort's; it was highly unlikely, therefore, that he would find his symptoms listed in **_**Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions.**_

"He's a got a point, you know," Sirius said.

"Yes, we do know…now shut up," Lily said, annoyed.

"Fine," Sirius huffed. Brittany patted his hair and said, "It'll be okay." She whispered something in his ear and Sirius smiled goofily, drooling.

"What did you say, Brittany?" James asked.

She blushed and said, "Nothing." James laughed, but kept quiet.

**As for informing the headmaster, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during the summer holiday. He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full-length wizard's robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion onto his long crooked nose.**

"Ugh," Sirius said. "Why would you even picture him doing that?" He suddenly gasped. "Maybe your son is gay and has a thing for older men, Prongs!" Everyone rolled their eyes and threw a pillow at him (except Brittany, she was sitting on his lap).

James growled. "Don't ever say that again! You would be implying that Dumbledore was gay too, ya know! And that's my son you're talking about!" ("Oh, right…sorry.")

"Are _you_ implying that if our son _was_ gay, you wouldn't love/like him?" Lily said, narrowing her eyes dangerously at her boyfriend.

"N-n-no," James stuttered. "It w-w-would just be really weird, that's all." He cowered under Lily's gaze. ("Jamesie is in trouble!" Sirius began chanting. Lily then turned to glare at him and he immediately stopped. James smirked at him.)

"Back to the book!" Brittany said loudly over the three friends. They all settled down again, Remus shaking his head at his two best friends, and she began to read again.

**Wherever Dumbledore was, though, Harry was sure that Hedwig would be able to find him; Harry's owl had never yet failed to deliver a letter to anyone, even without an address. But what would he write?**

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore, Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurt this morning. Yours sincerely, Harry Potter.**_

**Even inside his head the words sounded stupid.**

**And so he tried to imagine his other best friend, Ron Weasley's, reaction, and in a moment, Ron's red hair**

"Weasley and red hair…" Sirius said, thinking.

"He must be Molly and Arthur's kid," said Remus, thoughtfully. "They got married a few years ago right out of school. Don't they have a couple of kids now?" James and Lily nodded.

"Yes, Ron is Molly and Arthur's sixth and final boy," Brittany replied, shaking her head at the amount of kids the Weasleys had.

"They have SIX kids?!" everyone (minus Britt) yelled in unison.

"Nope, their youngest after Ron, is a girl, Ginerva (Ginny) Molly Weasley," Brittany grinned at their expressions.

"The Weasleys finally had a girl?" Remus asked, intrigued and quite happy for Molly and Arthur. They were nice people. Brittany nodded.

"Speaking of children," Sirius began and his girlfriend looked at him questioningly. "How many were you thinking of having?"

"Umm, about four, at least," she said, smiling serenely at the thought of being a mother.

"That sounds nice," said Sirius, a dreamy look in his eyes. James, Remus, and Lily all looked at each other wondering where this was coming from. Since when did _Sirius Black_ start thinking about having children?

"Enough talk about children," said Lily reluctantly. "We need to finish this book before next century please." They all nodded and settled down again. Brittany placed her head in the crook of Sirius's neck. He smiled and kissed the top of said head. (James had taken the book back from Brittany and wanted to continue, himself.)

He coughed dramatically (everyone rolled their eyes) and James began.

**and long-nosed, freckled face seemed to swim before Harry, wearing a bemused expression.**

"Ron's permanent expression," Brittany laughed and everyone else just chuckled, not knowing Ron very well, except for Sirius who looked confused (ironically).

"I don't get it, what does bemused mean?" asked Sirius, frowning when everyone just laughed, except for Brittany of course who just smiled.

"Mainly just confused, Sirius," Brittany said sweetly kissing him on the cheek.

"Oh," he replied, nodding in understanding.

"Continue reading, James," said Lily rolling her eyes at Sirius.

"_**Your scar hurt? But . . . but You-Know-Who can't be near you now, can he? I mean . . . you'd know , wouldn't you? He'd be trying to do you in again, wouldn't he? I dunno, Harry, maybe curse scars always twinge a bit. . . . I'll ask Dad. . . ."**_

"A typical Ron reaction," commented Brittany. "Harry knows his friends so we-" She stopped at the middle of the end of her sentence and her face turned miraculously green. She jumped up off her boyfriend's lap and ran to the girls' toilet.

Wondering what was wrong, Sirius ran after her. The others just sat there, staring with concern etched on their faces for the girl they just met.

"I wonder what the matter is," Remus commented and everyone else just shrugged, waiting for Sirius and Brittany's return.

B&S…

Sirius ran all the way to the bathroom and found his girlfriend kneeling on the ground, puking her guts out in the toilet. He went over to her and held her hair back. Smiling gratefully, she turned back to puke again. She stopped and wiped her mouth off.

Sirius felt her head and then said, "What's the matter, Love?"

She smiled at the word 'Love' and then said, "I don't know. I haven't been feeling bad all day…" She trailed off as she realized something. She took out her wand, shushing Sirius (as he asked her what she was doing), and then waved it over herself. She gasped when the tip of her wand glowed pink. She dropped her beloved wand and stared at it.

"What?" said Sirius frantic. "What's going on?"

Brittany took a deep breath and said, "I'm pregnant." Pause and Sirius's eyes widened, jaw opening. "It's a girl and she's yours." Her boyfriend and newly announced father of her unborn baby then proceeded to fall over in shock. "That's not all. I think because we confessed our love for one another that we're soul mates and that's what caused me to become pregnant without having sex first."

Sirius continued to stare at the girl that was carrying his baby. Then he started to grin and said, "We're soul mates…and we're going to be parents???!!!" Brittany nodded and Sirius wrapped her up in a hug, squeezing gently. After a few minutes, they decided to go back downstairs where their friends were waiting.

"Are you okay, Brittany?" Lily immediately asked when she her new friend come into the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Lily. You're so sweet," she replied, smiling softly at Harry's mother. "There's just something Sirius and I need to tell you all." She sighed and hesitated.

"Well," said James impatiently, motioning for her to continue. Lily rolled her eyes and swatted her future husband on the arm.

"I'm pregnant," she said, bluntly, her boyfriend staying silently the whole time. She then proceeded to tell them everything she told her boyfriend. Remus and James's jaws dropped and Lily stared at the two soon-to-be-parents.

"You, Sirius Black, Notorious Hogwarts Playboy and Prankster, are going to have a kid??" said James, incredulously. He and Remus shared a look.

Sirius nodded, still looking stunned himself. Then Brittany snapped, "So. He'll be the best damn father you've ever seen!"

"S-sorry, I didn't mean that, I'm sure he will…" James trailed off, looking scared.

Brittany sighed (Sirius and Remus looked very amused) and said, "I'm sorry, James, it's just these damned horomones. They're starting to kick in. (Everyone chuckled, albeit nervously) Oh, and since I've found my soul-mate I won't be able to time travel anymore. I'll still have my powers, though I'll be able to age now and grow up with you guys."

"Yay!" smiled Lily excitedly. "We can become best friends now!"

"I'm sure we will, Lils," grinned Brittany, throwing her arms around Lily hugging her. "Well, we need to continue reading if we're going to finish this book anytime soon." They nodded in agreement, settling back down in the respective places. Sirius sat on the floor leaning back against the armchair with his girlfriend lying between his legs, her head against his chest and his arms wrapped around her. Everyone else was in the same place. Then James picked up where he left off.

**Mr. Weasley was a fully qualified wizards who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, but he didn't have any particular expertise in the matter of curses, as far as Harry knew.**

"Well, duh," said Sirius. "Harry's the first to survive the Killing Curse!"

"Shut the bloody hell up, Sirius, so James can finish the bloody chapter," hissed Brittany and then grew horrified at what she said and started to cry. "I'm s-sorry, Siri, I didn't mean it!" she howled.

Sirius started at the mother-to-be and started to rub her back, "It's okay, love, I know you didn't. I love you, and you love me that's all that matters!"

"Oh, Sirius," she said, smiling brightly the tears stopping immediately. She gave Sirius a huge bear hug. "Damn horomones," she muttered, motioning for James to continue.

Everyone else staring at her, shook themselves out of it. Lily wondered if she was going to be like that when she was pregnant with Harry, as James continued to read.

**In any case, Harry didn't like the idea of the whole Weasley family knowing that he, Harry, was getting jumpy about a few moments' pain.**

The pregnant sixteen-year-old sighed and said, "Damn Harry's self-esteem. He should've told us and we would've offered some comfort though Ron is a bit tactless."

"Just like our Padfoot here," James grinned clapping a hand on Sirius's back. He cowered at Brittany's murderous glare and continued to read. Sirius just smirked at his friend and put his hand on his girlfriend's stomach, his expression softening.

Lily gave out a soft "Awww" where no one could hear her, tears in her eyes.

**Mrs. Weasley would fuss worse than Hermione,**

"That's true," said Remus. "I know Molly. She's such a mother hen." Everybody else made noises of agreement."

"Understatement of the year, Moony," laughed Brittany.

**And Fred and George, Ron's sixteen-year-old twin brothers, might think Harry was losing his nerve.**

"You're going to love Fred and George," commented the mother-to-be. "Think of them as your successors, Padfoot and Prongs." Sirius and James's eyes lit up and the others chuckled at their expressions.

"Mini-Marauders, you mean?" James asked excitedly.

"Sure…" she said rolling her eyes at him. Lily and Brittany exchanged a look and then told James to continue.

**The Weasleys were Harry's favorite family in the world;**

"Awww," said Lily, interrupting her boyfriend. "I'll have to thank Molly and Arthur for taking care of our boy."

**He was hoping that they might invite him to stay anytime now (Ron had mentioned something about the Quidditch World Cup),**

James stopped and yelled together with Sirius, "THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP??!!"

"My son's going to the Quidditch World Cup!!!? That hasn't been hosted in England for five decades!" James said all this very excitedly in one breath. He jumped up to hug Sirius which looked very gay in Remus's opinion who snickered quietly to himself.

Lily rolled her eyes and said the worst thing she could possibly say in front of two of the worst Quidditch nuts ever, "It's just Quidditch."

Brittany and Remus gave her a horrified look as James and Sirius went off about this and that. "What'd you do that for?" groaned Moony. "Now they'll never stop."

Lily shrugged, looking sheepish. Then Brittany spoke, "I know what to do." She took a deep breath and then yelled (Rated R if you don't want to read this next part), "SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP, YOU STUPID FUCKING QUIDDITCH FAGS AND IF YOU DON'T I'LL CURSE YOU SO BAD NO ONE'LL RECOGNISE YOU WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU AND THEN I'LL FUCKING CUT OFF YOUR BALLS!!!"

James and Sirius stopped in mid-sentence to turn around and stare at her, who'd gotten up when Lily had said those words. James's jaw had dropped, shocked at her language and scared for his manhood. Sirius even looked a little hurt. Brittany then realized what she said and then _she_ went off, crying and sobbing saying, "I-I'm s-s-sorry, guys, I-I d-didn't mean it. I-It's th-these damn h-hormones. I-I don't n-n-normally cuss."

Sirius rushed to comfort her while waving at James to continue who still looked a little shaken and was covering his 'private area'. Remus and Lily were fighting hard not to laugh at the two boys, especially James. They thought the boys needed to learn not to piss off pregnant women, especially since one of the said boys was going to be the father. Nobody said anything for the next few paragraphs, afraid to wind up Brittany again.

**And he somehow didn't want his visit punctuated with anxious inquiries about his scar.**

**Harry kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. What he really wanted (and it felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like – someone like a **_**parent**_**:**

Lily whimpered here and James wrapped around her. The others looked at her sympathetically.

**An adult wizard whose advice he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience with Dark Magic. . . .**

**And then the solution came to him. It was so simple, and so obvious, that he couldn't believe it had taken so long – **_**Sirius.**_

"Good idea," he said grinning. Everyone else smiled, letting out the breaths they were holding, just in case Brittany exploded again. The girl in question rolled her eyes and just shook her head.

**Harry leapt up from the bed, hurried across the room, and sat down at his desk; he pulled a piece of parchment toward him, loaded his eagle-feather quill with ink, wrote **_**Dear Sirius**_**, then paused, wondering how best to phrase his problem, still marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away.**

"Yeah, why hadn't you thought of me right away?" Sirius questioned, shaking his finger at the book. James snorted and Remus just chuckled.

"Well, Love, Harry had just met you the year before and he'd only been like about a month or so into the summer holidays," Brittany explained (who'd calmed considerably), giving the father of her baby a kiss on the cheek. A look of realization slowly dawned on Sirius's face. Everyone laughed and Sirius harrumphed.

Chuckling, James continued, "**But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising – after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his godfather two months ago.**"

"See."

**There was a simple reason for Sirius's complete absence from Harry's life until then –**

"And I'm so very sorry, Harry," said Sirius sadly. Brittany started to rub his back and shoulders, massaging them. He leaned back into her touch, sighing and closing his eyes.

**Sirius had been in Azkaban **

Sirius himself winced and Brittany started to trail kisses down his neck, Sirius giving a shudder. "We'll be back," said Brittany, grabbing Sirius and pushing him towards the boys' dorms. "Just read this and the next paragraph yourselves."

"Alright," said James, smirking. "But where are you going?"

"None of your business," said Sirius, winking. He grabbed her hand and raced towards the 6th year boys' dorm.

Lily giggled. "I know what they'll be doing."

"I think she's doing that to cheer him up," Remus said thoughtfully.

James laughed and said, "Way to go, Padfoot! He's going to be getting some." Then he turned to his girlfriend and said hopefully, "Lily?"

She swatted his arm and said, "Potter, what do you take me for? A slut? We've only been dating a couple of hours. Anyway, you heard the lady, let's read."

James and Remus chuckled, James saying, "Alright, alright."

**The terrifying wizard jail guarded by creatures called dementors, sightless, soul-sucking fiends**

"I'm glad Padfoot didn't stay for this," said James quietly, hating Wormtail with every fiber of his being right now for getting Sirius in this situation. Lily and Remus nodded, agreeing.

**Who had come to search for Sirius at Hogwarts when he had escaped.**

"Honestly, dementors at Hogwarts," muttered Lily furiously. "WHAT was Fudge thinking?"

**Yet Sirius had been innocent – the murders for which he had been convicted had been committed by Wormtail,**

Lily's eyes narrowed and the boys growled.

**Voldemort's supporter, whom nearly everybody now believed dead. Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew otherwise, however; they had come face-to-face with Wormtail only the previous year,**

"DON'T YOU TOUCH OUR SON, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" James yelled at the book, interrupting himself. Lily put a calming hand on his shoulder and he sat back down, having stood up when he yelled.

**Though only Professor Dumbledore believed their story.**

**For one glorious hour, Harry had believed that he was leaving the Dursleys at last, because Sirius had offered him a home once his name had been cleared.**

"Good on Padfoot!!" grinned James, silently thanking his best friend for trying to be there for his son.

**But the chance had been snatched away from him – Wormtail had escaped before they could take him to the Ministry of Magic,**

"Damn Wormtail!" muttered all three of them, including Lily.

**And Sirius had had to flee for his life. Harry had helped him escape on the back of a hippogriff called Buckbeak**

"Good boy, son," said James fondly. "That's the Marauder in him." He wiped a fake tear away.

Lily just rolled her eyes and said, "Hopefully not. I think it's his helping people thing that he gets from me."

Remus shook his head and stopped the two before they got to REALLY arguing.

**And since then, Sirius had been on the run. The home Harry might have had if Wormtail had not escaped had been haunting him all summer.**

"I swear," Remus growled. "that I am going to get my hands on him as soon as he gets back."

**It had been doubly hard to return to the Dursleys knowing that he had so nearly escaped them forever.**

"Well, that's the end of the second paragraph that she'd told us to read," said James, sighing.

"Now all we have to do is wait for them to get back," said Remus.

"Let's discuss what's happened so far while we do," said Lily and so they did.


	3. The Continuation of The Scar

Ch. 3: The Continuation of The Scar

A few minutes later, whether it was ten or thirty, nobody was sure, the future parents came down the boys' staircase looking very disheveled and quite happy with themselves. Sirius had a shell-shocked look on his face and Brittany had a far away look in her eyes.

"So?" James snickered. "Enjoy yourselves much?" Lily elbowed him in the stomach and he grunted "OW!".

"Don't be so rude, James," Lily said, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. Remus himself was smirking, though. He didn't hang around the Marauders without being rubbed off on.

"Nonsense, Lils," chirped the pregnant teen. "We did, in fact, enjoy ourselves, so much, that we could've go on for hours."

James blanched, Remus put his hands over his ears, Sirius chuckled while smirking, and Lily, disgusted, cried, "EWWW, too much information, Britt."

"Alright, alright, let's just finish this chapter so we can break for lunch," said Remus, his sensible side coming back.

"I'm pretty sure Sirius and Brittany are starving already," James laughed and Brittany threw a cushion at his head.

"Enough," she said. "I think I've caused enough damage without you adding to it."

"Nonsense, love," said Sirius. "You're not capable of causing of anyone damage. You're the nicest person I know, besides Lily, of course."

"Awww," said Lily and Brittany at the same time, the latter wrapping her arms around Sirius and giving him a passionate kiss.

James, Remus, and Lily coughed loudly and the couple broke apart, Brittany looking sheepish. "Can we get on with it, now?"

"Sure, sure."

James gave a dramatic cough, again, and continued where he left off.

**Nevertheless, Sirius had been of some help to Harry, even if he couldn't be with him.**

James and Lily looked at Sirius with gratitude. "Thanks, Sirius," Lily said softly.

"He's my godson," said Sirius. "I would do anything for him and you guys."

Lily gave him a hug and James slapped him on the back. "Thanks anyway, mate."

**It was due to Sirius that Harry now had all his school things in his bedroom with him. The Dursleys had never allowed this before**

"But…but then, how did he do all his homework?" Lily shrieked, horrified.

"Relax, Lily," said Brittany, comfortingly. "He snuck down to the cupboard and hid his things under a floorboard under his bed. He did his homework at night."

Lily did relax then, sighing with relief. Sirius and James were staring at her in disbelief, they weren't very big fans of homework. Remus just shook his head at all three of them and waved for James to continue.

**Their general wish of keeping Harry as miserable as possible,**

All the boys growled at this and the ladies glowered.

**Couple with their fear of his powers, had led them to lock his school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs every summer prior to this.**

"I swear I'll get you for this, Tuney," Lily whispered to herself. "Just wait until the summer and you and your boyfriend come to visit."

Nobody could hear what she had said, but they looked at her weirdly, like she was crazy. James just shrugged, kissing her on the cheek and putting his arm over her shoulder, leaning back against the couch. Lily snuggled in close to him, unaware of the stares.

**But their attitude had changed since they found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather – **

Remus, Brittany and Lily chuckled. James and Sirius looked at them confused and asked, "What's so funny?"

"If he did what I thought he did, you'll see," said cryptic Remus. It only deepened their confusion, but what can you expect with these two guys.

**For Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.**

Everyone roared with laughter at that. Remus's suspicions had come true. Sirius and James chanted, "Go, Harry! Go, Harry!"

**Harry had received two letters from Sirius since he had been back at Privet Drive. Both had been delivered, not by owls**

"Then what did I deliver them with?" questioned Sirius, looking perplexed. Brittany just smiled and Lily glared at him.

"Let James read and I'm sure we'll find out," she grounded out through clenched teeth. Sirius shut up immediately and Brittany giggled quietly. Sirius turned to scowl at her.

"Hey," she whispered. "Can't blame me for anything, I just had sex with you."

James and Remus cracked up laughing at that and Sirius just said, "Can't argue with that," while looking at her lovingly.

"Alright, you two, cut it out," Lily said, smiling slightly. Still chuckling, James continued to read.

**(as was usual with wizards), but by large, brightly colored tropical birds.**

At that, everyone looked confused except for Brittany. "Hmm," said Remus thoughtfully. "You must have went somewhere south, where it's lighter and warmer. Dementors wouldn't go there if it's too bright. It seems you were smart for once, Sirius."

Everyone had a good laugh. Brittany just chuckled and Sirius pouted. "I can be smart if I wanted," he whined.

"I know you can be, Siri," Brittany said, kissing him on the cheek and hugging his waist, head on his chest.

"Thank you, my lovely princess," said Sirius, eyes sparkling. "You don't know what you do to me."

Brittany's eyes shined with tears and happiness. "I love you, my Padfoot."

"I love you, my Princess."

"Alright then," said James, half-smiling and half-disgusted. "Let's get on with it, then." Lily smiled at her future husband and Harry's future father and thought, _'Well, it's about time he had some sense knocked into him.'_

**Hedwig had not approved of these flashy intruders; she had been most reluctant to allow them to drink from her water tray before flying off again.**

"She sounds stuck-up," said Sirius, wrinkling his nose. And he would know what stuck-up was, considering the family he had grown up with, the Blacks.

"I quite agree," said James in a smart alec manner. Sirius laughed while Remus snickered.

Brittany and Lily shook their heads, once again mumbling, "Boys."

**Harry, on the other hand, had liked them; they put him in mind of palm trees and white sand, and he hoped that, wherever Sirius was (Sirius never said, in case the letters were intercepted), he was enjoying himself.**

"Awww..." said Lily. "He cares about you, Sirius."

"Of course he does," Sirius said, puffing his chest out. "I'm his godfather, or rather dogfather." Then he laughed at his own joke. James snickered, but everyone else just shook their heads at him.

"You can do better than that, Padfoot," Remus claimed, grinning at his friend.

**Somehow, Harry found it hard to imagine dementors surviving for long in bright sunlight;**

"See, even Harry agrees with me," Remus grinned, smug.

**Perhaps that was why Sirius had gone south. Sirius's letters, which were now hidden beneath the highly useful loose floorboard under Harry's bed, sounded cheerful, and in both of them he had reminded Harry to call on him if ever Harry needed to.**

"That was thoughtful of you, Sirius," Lily smiled at him. "It's good that your happy."

Sirius nodded and said, "Thanks...anything for little Harry."

"He's not so little in this book, Sirius," the mother of his unborn child reminded him.

"Oh, I know, I just wanted to say that."

Brittany giggled while the others laughed. "You're unbelievable, Mr. Padfoot and I love you for it."

"Well, thank you for that assessment, Ms. Beautiful," said Sirius, smiling hugely.

"I'm not beautiful," she mumbled, blushing all the same. She wasn't going to even say that McGonagall had said the exact same thing to Ron a while back, without the 'Ms. Beautiful' part, though.

Shaking her head, Lily said, "Alright, get on with reading, please, James."

**Well, he needed to now, all right. . . .**

**Harry's lamp seemed to grow dimmer as the cold gray light that precedes sunrise slowly crept into the room. Finally, when the sun had risen, when his bedroom walls had turned gold,**

"HIS BEDROOM WALLS TURNED GOLD??!" yelled Sirius, amazed. "I want that bedroom." James, Lily, and Brittany couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Remus rolled his eyes and said slowly, as if talking a mental patient, "It - Is - The - Sunlight."

Everyone just laughed harder at Sirius's face, except for his girlfriend. She calmed down a bit and whispered something into his ear again. Sirius went from pouting puppy to drooling baby.

James asked, "What did you - Nevermind, you're not gonna tell me."

Brittany blushed and laughed. "Of course not."

James shook his head and continued to read.

**and when sounds of movement could be heard from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room, Harry cleared his desk of parchment and reread his finished letter.**

**_Dear Sirius,_**

**_ Thanks for your last letter. That bird was enormous; it could hardly get through my window._**

**_ Things are the same as usual here. Dudley's diet isn't going too well. My aunt found him smuggling doughnuts into his room yesterday._**

"Pig," everyone muttered.

_**They told him they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out of the window.**_

"What's a PlayStation?" Sirius asked.

"I'm assuming it's a some sort of Muggle game system that hasn't come out yet in our time," Lily said thoughtfully.

"Oh," said Sirius, probably still not catching on. Oh well, Lily does not have a whole lot of time to be explaining the Muggle world to him.

_**That's a sort of computer thing you can play games on.**_


End file.
